Universal Journal of Educational Research Vol. 8(11C), pp. 45 - 54
DOI: 10.13189/ujer.2020.082306
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Online Collaborative Learning via Astronomy Online Lab: A Cross-cultural Communicative Experience for Malaysian and UK Students

Marlia Puteh ^1,*, Shahirah Abu Bakar ², Ayu Rita Mohamad ^1,3, Lili Zahra Ramly ^1,4, Nurhasmiza Abu Hasan Sazalli ¹, Othman Zainon ⁵, Nilam Nur Amir Sjarif ⁶, Nurul Shazana Abdul Hamid ⁷, Effie Law-Chong Lai ⁸, Nigel Bannister ^9
1 Language Academy, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Malaysia
² Research Management Centre, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Malaysia
³ Department of Language Education, Faculty of Education and Social Sciences, Universiti Selangor, Malaysia
⁴ School of Education and Humanities, Universiti Tun Abdul Razak, Malaysia
⁵ Department of Geoinformation, Faculty of Built Environment & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Malaysia
⁶ Department of Advanced Informatics, Razak Faculty of Technology and Informatics, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Malaysia
⁷ Department of Applied Physics, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Malaysia
⁸ Department of Computer Science, University of Leicester, United Kingdom
⁹ Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of Leicester, United Kingdom

ABSTRACT

Communication poses several problems, particularly to English second language (ESL) learners. In overcoming these problems, some ESL learners employ communicative strategies. This study reports the efforts undertaken by Malaysian ESL learners in enhancing their communication with the native speakers during collaborative cross-cultural online activities through Astronomy Online Lab (AOL). This AOL module was utilized to achieve twofold objectives namely enhancing students' communication skills and promoting knowledge exchange during the live discussions. 29 undergraduate students from a Malaysian public university and a UK university explored the Astronomy topics online and experienced the simulation during the two live sessions conducted for one month. Data were collected from a face-to-face interview with all the Malaysian students. The students' expectations before the live sessions, difficulties confronted when communicating with the native speakers, the communicative strategies and experience during the interactive activities were explored. The findings revealed that conversational issues such as the native's accent and the challenge in formulating strategies for solving communication problems during the conversations posed difficulties to the students. A general pattern of indirect and interactional communicative strategies as promoted by Dörnyei and Scott (1997) was evident during the interactions.

KEYWORDS
Collaborative Learning, Astronomy Online Labs, Online Platform, Communication Strategies, ESL Learners, Cross-cultural Activities

Cite This Paper in IEEE or APA Citation Styles
(a). IEEE Format:
[1] Marlia Puteh , Shahirah Abu Bakar , Ayu Rita Mohamad , Lili Zahra Ramly , Nurhasmiza Abu Hasan Sazalli , Othman Zainon , Nilam Nur Amir Sjarif , Nurul Shazana Abdul Hamid , Effie Law-Chong Lai , Nigel Bannister , "Online Collaborative Learning via Astronomy Online Lab: A Cross-cultural Communicative Experience for Malaysian and UK Students," Universal Journal of Educational Research, Vol. 8, No. 11C, pp. 45 - 54, 2020. DOI: 10.13189/ujer.2020.082306.

(b). APA Format:
Marlia Puteh , Shahirah Abu Bakar , Ayu Rita Mohamad , Lili Zahra Ramly , Nurhasmiza Abu Hasan Sazalli , Othman Zainon , Nilam Nur Amir Sjarif , Nurul Shazana Abdul Hamid , Effie Law-Chong Lai , Nigel Bannister (2020). Online Collaborative Learning via Astronomy Online Lab: A Cross-cultural Communicative Experience for Malaysian and UK Students. Universal Journal of Educational Research, 8(11C), 45 - 54. DOI: 10.13189/ujer.2020.082306.